Cooling unit



June 14, 1927. 1,632,283

J. P. B. FISKE COOLING UNIT Filed Feb. 28. 1921 Patented June 14,. 1927.

UNlTEn S'rrafrr.s

PATENT oFFlCE.

JONATHAN P. B. FISKE, 01E'l DETROIT, MICHIGAN, 'ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

' TO ELECTRIC REFRIGERATION CORPORATION, DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A COR- PORATION .OF MICHIGAN.

cocaine Umm. l

'Applicationoled February 28,. 19,21. Serial No.V 448,549..

Thisrinventiony relates to mechanical devices for lowering the temperature of s aces within which thedevices may be placed? An object j the invention is theproduc- 5 tion .of a cooling unit that may be placed in and removed from, a'cooling space as a un1-' tar structure.

4 nother object of the invention is the pro.- duction of a mechanical cooling deviceas a single unit and of lsuch size and shape that it may be placed in position in the ice chest of the ordinary household refrigerator as at 'resent constructed.

nother object of the invention is the provision of. a mechanical cooling device in the form of a self-contained unit adapted, when installed in a space to be cooled, to set up a circulation of air over the cool surfaces of the unit that is eii'ective and eilicient regardless of the form and size of the space in which the unit is installed. Y With these and other objects in viewl which will appear as the description proceeds, the .Y invention consists in the novel constructionand arrangement of parts, hereinafter de# scribed, illustrated in -the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, prop ortions, size and minor details of constructlon 40 vThe passages connecting the condenser and pevaporator or vaporizer element of such :'sstrnetures `are moreor less complicated and l -extendeddepending en the location`4 of the f evaporator or va orizer element relative to the' compressor, t us rendering the problem of installation a more or less compllcated one,

1 .which greatly increases the cost of the same v"'a'igl :also,mnltiplies 4the danger of leakage inthe refri rant system-'thus extended,

vca s-t'o. theextension of thebusinees.

In all suc constructions, the installation.

' of fthe; mechanism eithernecessitates'modi- "..ications in the cabinetor other structure `lwith which the deviceis assoc ated or the 'v device is so constructed and may be made within the scope of the ap' when assembled it becomes such a part ofthe associatedy structure that when the. refrigerant mechanism' requires inspection, ad Justment or repairs, itis necessary thatv this work be done at the place Where the refrigerating .structure is located. All refrigerating apparatus requires more or less attention technically called sei-vice. Service onl certain parts of the apparatus, such as motor, switch, water valve, etc., can

be rendered with the apparatus in place by 95 any intelligent mechanic without-undue expense or inconvenience.v

When it becomes necessary, however, to inspect or repair any of the mechanism enclosed within the refrigerant circuit, as forinstance the compressor, valve, expansion valve, etc., it becomes necessary tondischarge large expense to discharge and dismantle the 30 machine, make the necessary inspection and repairs, re-assemble it and recharge itwith refrigerant. I

This process is attended with many disadvantages as the refrigerator is-usually in 35 the kitchen or pantry and is in constant use by the household. .There is usually insuficient room for doing a considerable amount of Work of this character and the interference of the household routine is serious. Furthermore, the escape into the kitchen of any refrigerating gas is a very serious matter and often makes'it necessary to suspend all kitchen activities while ythe process is going 011. The necessity of sending highly trained yexperts with special a paratus to the customers home is atten ed with such -at expense that heretofore it has been ound necessary to restrict the installation of household refrigerators to points reasonably adiacent to service headquarters. This has een found one of the most serious handiorder to overzome these.d iliicultieafl` l have 'devised the so-called umt-construcone unit so that the entire apparatus may be placed within the space to be refrigerated.

When anything goes wrong with the'alpparatus, repairs can be made upon all of t e elements outside of the refrigerant circuit, such as motor, switch, water valve, etc., by any ordinary mechanic with ordinary, tools. Much of this work can be done without Withdrawing the unit from the refrigerated space. Where the repairs are more extensive the apparatus can be withdrawn from the' re- -rigerated space, taken to the basementor the workshop, easily repaired, and replaced i11 the refrigerated space. Where special repairsare necessary on the mechanism con-Y tained within die refrigerant circuit, the entire unitcan be placed 1n a packing boxand shipped to a re air station and a substitute unit provided or-that purpose can be used in the meantimewithout any interruption ci refrigeration or 'any inconvenience to the occupants of the house. I This construction not only' makes it possible to'- eliminate delay and inconvenience to the owner in making repairs, but also enables the manufacturer to install his devices over comparatively wide areas at a Vmaterial reduction in the cost of service. lt

also 'enables tlie `miauiufacturer. to render more' intelligent work on repairs because the centralization ofthe repair work makes it possible to` employ more highly trained and experienced engineers and experts to superadapted to be 'plac vise and execute the repair work.

The rerigeratin unit described below is e anywhere it is desirable to cool the surrounding air. The unit may food compartment may be'provided with the removable shelving 7.

The .vertical partition 3 has at lits top and bottom the usual Ventilating openin s`8 andi 9; The horizontal partition 2 visv ikewise 7m provided with a Ventilating opening 10 to Apermit vthe circulation of air from the food compartment through the ice chamber:

The refrigerating or cooling' unit consisting of the motor18, the compressor'19, the 75 condenser 19, and the vaporizer 20, maybe of any well known form', such, for example, as that shown in patent to Bechtold et al., 1,276,612,11ugust 20, 1918. It may have its parts suppbrted in proper relation to each other by any suitable means, asv the rtable support or frame 17. As shown, t'e sup. porting means or frame is in the form of a housing member having the bottom wall 11, side walls'12, end walls 13 and top-wall 8'5 111. ese walls may,l if desired,be insulated as shown at 32.v Means are Provided for supporting the frame 17 in positionin r spaced relation vto the 'partitiom 2. Any f' suitable means may be provided for' this purpose and may be-secured to any convenient portion of the frame 17.` As, shown, this means is.in the .form "of supportingf members 15 which' are secured to the bottom Y 'wall 11 and constitute means for sliding the 95 .frame 17 into position in the refrigerator. AThese supporting members also maintain the frame 17 in spaced relationthe partitlor '2 to provide `for free circulation of the air through the^ opening 10. The' portable frame pr housing 17 is provided with a horizontal partition 16 which divides the hous- Y be employed in various relations and ferr ing into upper and lower 'chambers 25 and cooling spaces in structures'of various kinds, but forl the purpose of simplicity of disfclosure, the device is shownV only in connecf tion with vthe ordinary household refriger ator, and the description is confined thereto. Moreover, :for convenience in description and illustration, .the device is also shown more or, lessdiagrammatically on' the drawing.y

' On' the' drawings:

'Fig 1 is a perspective view of the cooling unit, with parts broken away and the front endofzthe supporting frame removed;'

Fig.`2 is a-perspective view of'a refrig- .I eratorabinet with the doors yremoved show- Y 1,11' vdevice in place therein; and

ig. 3 is a vertical :On the drawings, the .reference-numeral 1 Y I. "designates a. refrigerator cabinet. This cab- Iinet may'gbe Vof. any form, .the one shown being' tljeusual type of household refrigerators,v having the outer walls whichV may-be provided w1th -the usual insulatin material and 'having the partitions 2 an 3 which divide the interiorA space into the 'ice cpmp'artment 4'- andgadjac'ent food compartment composed of the sections 5 and 6. The

.vices 28. The controls for the waterand section of the device 26, respectlvely.- The upper chamber con,- tains the refrigerant liquefying mechanism, consisting of the motor 18, the compressor 19, condenser 19', and the usual automaticv electric current and water controlling vdeelectric current may be of any known form, as, for example like that shown 1n application of Bechtold etal. Ser. No, 146,715,1i1ed February 5, 1917 (U. S.-Pa.tent 1,478,421,

YdatedD'ecember 25, 1923). The condenser 19", if cooled by water, may b e connected'to 115 both the water main and sewerthrou the pipes 27 shown in dotted"l1nes 1n 1g.. 3. Any` sitable`.means may he employed for operating the compressor. If the motor for operating the devicebe an electrical one, 1.20.

the electrical'connection fior operating the p'sts v29 inthe ,usual manner. Y The lower compartment" containsthe val vporizer 20 which may consist of fthe header 125,

mayif desred, be located in brine contained and 22 therethrough. The opening 22 is adapted to be closedby a valve or cl sure 23 which is operated by any suitable her- Imostat or thermally operated means such as the corrugated longitudinally extensible metallc member 23 shown more or less diagrammatically in Figs. 1 and 3l which is adapted to be extended by vapor produced by the yenvironment temperature from a Huid contained in the bulb 24.

Since the details of the motor, the compressor, the/condenser, the brine tank and vaporizer arrangement, the valve and thermostat and the various controls are no art fof the present invention, the details of t ese medevices have not been shown or described.

The thermostat 24 is so arranged that when the temperature within the todd compartment falls below a predetermined point,

itwill close the valve'to prevent air from passing therethrough. As. the temperature ofthe air within the foo'd compartment rises the thermostat will gradually open the valve andlet more and more cold air from the lower chamber pass through the o ning 22 to lower the temperature of the ood compartment.

The temperature of the brine tank iscontrolled by a thermostat therein, not shown, which is connected to `the devices 28 and controls the opeptionof the motor in`tl1e usual manner.

It will be noted that the o enings 21 are located in the upper portion ci) the side walls of the lower chamber 26. This arrangement makes it possible to more accurately control the temperature of the food compartment since when the valve 23 is closed the air within the chamber surrounding the brine tank may be at a low temperature without materially affecting the temperature of the food compartment. In other words, a reservoir of cold air may be maintained within the lower chamber .ready at all times, when the valve 23 begins to open, to 'pass into the foofd compartment to maintain 'a constaut tem erature therein.

When t e .valve 23 is open, air from the rood compartment ay pass throu h the openings.v21,abutt ebrine tank andt rough the openings 22 and 10 back into the food compartment.. When the valve is openA the -airv of the food compartment is free to circulate through the openings 8 and 10, thus maintaining the temperature uniform `throughout the food compartment.

' It will also be noted that the motor, compressor and condenser are isolated within the upper chamber. The heat generated by operatlon of` these members does not therefitte materially a'ect the temperature within the-refrigerator. The heat generated by they l unitary structure that may be inserted in.

the ice box ofthe ordinary household refrigerator and installed therein by making the proper water and electrical connections.

As has been stated above, my improved refrigerating unit is ada ted to be placed in any space which it is esired to cool. This adaptabilit of the unitis in part due to the fact that t e casing enclosing the unit insures an effective and eicient circulation of air over the vaporizer regardless of the size of the space in which the unit is installed. If no enclosing casing were rovide the circulation of the air over t e vaporizer would depend largely upon the sizeof the s ace around the unit and if the Walls of t e surrounding space were at some distance from the unit no'definite and eliicient circulation .of the air could be-relied upon. This feature of the invention is of importance not only in the cooling of room s aces of sub-y stantial volume but also in re rigeratoi` installations, since it insures reasonably ecient air circulation andl cooling uregardless of the size of the ice-box or chamber of the refrigerator.

FromY the -foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanyin drawings, it is thought that the'comp ete contures of my invention'will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention a pertains.

What I c aim is:

1. A refrigerating vapparatus comprising a refrigerant compressor, a motor to,drive the compressor, a condenser, a va orizer, and a housing directl sup orting t e said motor compressor an con enser parts and extending around the vaporizer with air openings through the exterior walls of the housing near the top and bottom parts of the 'vaporizer to induce circulation of air in and out of the housing, and thermally controlled means associated with the housing opening at the bottom part of the vaporizer ing around the vaporizer with air openings 'uo through its exterior. walls near the top and 100 v struction, operation and advanta eous fea- I "l0 housing to lcool the air of any chamber inA controlling the flow VAof air throgh one' of bottom parts of the'vaporizer to induce cirinsulating wallsandJuppei endlowencham'- A15 v `eulationv ofyairin and out 'of the housing bers and the exterior o fsailower- 'l and thermally Controlled means associate chambeixhaving openings -at diei'nt'levels j v with the housing opening at the bottom part foi' the entrance and exit'f nii, ief'ignantv 5 of' the vaporizer for controlling the passage' .liquefying mechanism enolosedlin 4said lippen' of air therethrough and ,responsive to the-cheminer, a vaporiz'er in said lower lcham- '20- \tempera.ture of said air,` said appaatns;be-'ber, means. connecting seid mechanism and -ing assembled and movable asa unit and vaporizer for the circulationl of the' li'efrigadaptegdby ciroulation of irthrough said era'nt,'and.thermlly controlled means for 'which the unit is placed. `said openings. 25

l i3. In rerigerating apparts, the-combi- In testimonyWheeofI-aix my signatlire. l

vnation 'of a portable housing. assembled :intl s .A v y movable as a unit, s aidhousmg having heat-' A JONATHAN P. B. 

